I Am Not Like You
by Etimire T
Summary: Matt Smith has just finished filming the first half of season seven in Doctor Who and can't wait to spend some time with his family; however, destiny has other plans. As he's driving home, Matt runs into (literally) a man who looks exactly like him and claims to be the Doctor. I will Loosely follow season 5, but when I say loosely I mean it. Enjoy! Matt Smith stars!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Matt Smith has just finished filming the first half of season seven in Doctor Who and can't wait to spend sometime home with his family; however, destiny has other plans. As he's driving home, Matt runs into (literally) a man who looks exactly like him and claims to be the Doctor.

Chapter One

**Somewhere among stars, several light-years away from Earth:**

"AHHHHH!" Matt shouted at the top of his lungs, clawing desperately at the slippery ledge above him. He could feel the Doctor's hands dig into his right ankle. Kicking wildly, his left shoe came loose and smacked the Doctor before falling to the chasm beneath them.

"OW!" the Gallifreyan protested, "That was my face!"

"We've got bigger problems than your injured pride, Doctor!" Matt screamed. He was terrified, and his hands cut into the metal ridges along the edge of the ledge he clung to. Swearing profusely, Matt attempted to readjust his grip. His right hand slipped, plunging them a few inches deeper.

The Doctor's shout cracked like a little boy's as he swung wildly. Matt didn't bother to stop screaming. "This is your fault!" he shouted at the bow tie-clad alien.

"My fault? How is this my fault?"

"You're the reason I'm in this mess in the first place! If you hadn't bloody kidnapped me, I would never be here!"

The Doctor huffed in indignation, "I didn't kidnap you!"

"You're going to kill us!" Matt's grip uncurled and he quickly switched hands.

The Doctor was silent for several ticks, "Ah, yeah- not my intention. This might possibly be a good time for one of those brilliant plans of yours, Matt."

Matt huffed, attempting to pull himself over the ledge and failing. Jeez, how did he manage to get himself situations like this? And to think, it all started on a blustery evening in England on a road driving through the middle of nowhere…

**A blustery evening in England, quite a lot of time earlier:**

Matt Smith sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Gah, he was tired. What he'd do for a warm shower and a fresh change of clothes right now…

Just a bit farther… he told himself, steeling his sand-filled eyes. The road was long and straight, with nothing but rolling hills and the bleeding sky ahead. Slowly, the night put out the fiery horizon, leaving everything in bruised blackness. Above, ominous clouds blocked even the slightest glimmer of a star, but it wouldn't rain. He hated when the sky looked that way. The clouds suffocated the rest of the universe, and the whole world waited with pent breath for something, anything to happen. It gave Matt an uneasy feeling.

Rolling his eyes, the actor silently berated himself. He definitely had had too much Doctor Who of late. He supposed being the lead actor did that sort of thing.

Falling lightly on the steering wheel, Matt's thin hands silently tapped out the beat of a song he had heard earlier that day, and he hummed in boredom. Matt glanced at the passenger seat next to him. He had a backpack and a suitcase filled with the stuff he'd brought to Cardiff, where they did most of the filming. Now he was bringing it home. How nice it would be to finally have a vacation… Of course, it wouldn't last long, but all the same, he was glad to be home.

Thoughts like this tumbled through the actor's mind, scattered leaves on a blustery evening, and the night grew deeper. Yawning largely, the weight of the day settled firmly on Matt's shoulders, urging his eyelids downwards.

No.

Matt jerked himself awake, shaking his head wildly. "Can't do that, Matt." He muttered to himself. Stayawakestayawakestayawake…

The silent mantra didn't work. His head slowly dipped toward the steering wheel and the car drifted to the left. The top of his head bumped against the middle of the steering wheel.

"GAH!" he shouted, the horn blaring him into consciousness. "No! Stop it!" he attempted to smack himself while at the same time keeping a hand on the wheel. "STAY AWAKE!"

There. Matt blinked a few times, "Good." He felt awake enough now.

He drove for several minutes, silently humming an unnamed tune, but soon the night crept through the windows and slithered under the door, silently embracing him.

His bluish-green eyes fell downward and this time he veered to the right. He hit the edge of the road and righted himself, jerking awake again.

"Come on…" he muttered, annoyed and slightly nervous "Just a little farther!"

But the night didn't want to wait a little longer. After three more eye shutting incidents, Matt sighed.

"Fine." He spoke out loud to no one in particular, "Five minutes. I'll stop the car and take a nap."

A sudden flash of lightning cracked the sky for a moment, seeming to answer his ranting. Several seconds later a shock of thunder rattled the actor's teeth and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

The lightning almost looked like- "Don't be an idiot." He muttered. There it was again, too much Doctor Who. It was officially frying his brain…

He glanced at the radio clock, 10:59 PM. Was it really only almost eleven? Jeez, it felt way later than that…

The clock changed its hour and Matt slowly began to slide toward the side of the road. He figured he'd sleep for an hour or two and then finish the rest of the journey.

Suddenly a cry cut through the silent night. It almost sounded like it came from above him, but that was ridiculous… Frowning, Matt was about to continue with his mission when a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of the car, almost like he blinked into existence.

"AH!" Mat shouted in surprise, swerving to miss the man, but it was too late. He felt the thud in the souls of his feet and fear spiked throughout his body.

"Nononononononono!" he shouted, unclipping his seatbelt and nearly flying out of the car. He just hit someone! With his car! With his bloody car!

If he'd been thinking straight, Matt might have wondered what someone was doing out in the middle of no where, but he was too rattled at the moment…

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he cried, racing toward the fallen figure. He heard a groan and quickly knelt down beside the man, "Are you hurt? Gah, tell me you're not hurt! You just appeared, like, out of nowhere!" Matt knew he was babbling, he had a tendency to do that, but at the moment he didn't care.

A frighteningly loud crack of thunder split the two men's ears, and then it began to rain buckets.

The man blinked, shivered, and then sat up. Rain ran through his hair in rivets, and he had to squint to see clearly. The man looked around in confusion, taking in the scene. The headlights spilling from Matt's car was the only source of light, so Matt doubted he saw much. It was too dark to even make out the man's face. "Did- did you just hit me?"

"I-"

"Well I've got to say, that has never actually happened before, and a lot of things have happened to me- well, the other me's. This one hasn't done much yet." He patted himself down, cringing when he touched his left arm. A dark spot appeared on the clothing in the spot.

There was something familiar about the man's tone the made Matt's ears perk up. It was almost… familiar, ridiculously familiar…

Matt shook the strange feeling away, seeing the dark spot, "Are you hurt?"

The man shook his head and then slowly stood up. Straightening what appeared to be a suit jacket of some sort, the man shrugged, "I don't believe so, besides this little scratch and probably a few bruises, give me a mo,"

Appeared to give himself a once over, the man nodded, "Ah, yeah, I'm fine. It'll heal in a few hours-"

"A few hours?" Matt sputtered, confused, "Here, let me see," he reached forward, but the man stumbled back.

"Really, I'm fine- really. You startled the bajeebers out of me, but I'm not mortally wounded." The man attempted a small smirk, giving a thumbs up, but it was too dark for Matt to see it. "I suppose teleporting in front of your car was a bit my fault, well, mostly my fault, actually, probably entirely, since you had no way of knowing I would land there. Honestly, neither did I. I didn't even mean to teleport; didn't press a button or anything. The TARDIS must have done it..."

Matt blinked, suddenly realizing who the man pretended to be. He groaned inwardly. Jeez, could they never leave him alone? "How on Earth did you find me?" he cried, "Almost no one knows I'm going home!" His eyes widened as he pointed at the man, whose head tilted in bafflement. "Oh, I bet it was Daniel, that loose lipped idiot. Or was it Maurice? Did she tell you I left the set?"

The man was silent, seemingly confused.

Matt sighed, "Look, all I want is nice vacation from all the 'fan' craziness so I can spend a quiet week with my family."

"Sorry," the man scratched his neck, not sounding at all sorry, just confused, "You lost me a while back. Do I know you?"

"Know me? You'd better if you're crazy enough to dress up like my character and jump in front of a bloody car! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

The man frowned, holding a hand over his injured bicep, "Wait, you think I'm some sort of fan? Fan of what exactly? Look, this is probably extremely confusing for you, and I understand- well actually, I don't. I haven't the faintest clue how I got here, or who you are, but I-"

Matt rolled his eyes, shielding his face with from the watery onslaught. He gestured with his hands wildly, "Oh, drop it already. I get it. You had your fun. I'm usually all for this sort of thing, but it's the middle of the night, pouring down rain, and I'm in the middle of nowhere, so if you're not mortally wounded, as you say, goodbye and goodnight."

He stomped toward his car, not looking back. Feeling slightly guilty for leaving someone out here in this weather, he debated whether to give the man a ride or not. He did hit him with his car…

Then again, Matt really was exhausted, and now he'd have to drive much farther before he could rest.

He shrugged. The man probably had a bunch of his buddies hiding out behind a hill somewhere. If he was really hurt, they could probably help him. Opening the car door, Matt sat down with a huff and pumped the gas petal. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

He drove for several minutes listening to the rain splattering across the windshield.

Suddenly he heard a voice from behind him, "Where exactly are we going, if I may ask?"

Matt let out a startled screech, slamming the breaks. Did these people have no reservations? "How- how did you even get in here, in my bloody car?!"

"I- well, it just sort of happened."

Matt closed his eyes for a moment. Why did he have to deal with stuff like this? He threw himself into action. Bursting open his door, the actor stomped around the car and flung open the passenger side door. "Get out," Matt, growled. He didn't even want to look at this stranger who invaded his privacy. "Now."

The stranger grumbled something and then stepped out of the car. Matt turned quickly, squinting in the rain.

Once again situated in the driver's seat, Matt started the car and took off. He glanced at the passenger seat and saw his backpack was covered in the rain that flew in almost horizontally when he let his 'passenger' out. "Oh come on!" he protested, stopping the car and flicking on a ceiling light. The backpack held the script he was supposed to be memorizing. He couldn't risk it getting wet. Picking the backpack up, he quickly and ineffectively attempted to dry it off. "Why is everything so bloody difficult!" he whined, banging his head against the top of the steering wheel and throwing the backpack into its original position. The seat made a squelching noise when the backpack landed on top of it. Matt just sighed.

"Do you need help with that?" said a voice from the back seat.

This time Matt actually jumped. He slammed his head against the ceiling, exploding in numerous exotic curses. "How are you doing that?" he shouted at the man, turning to look at him for the first time. "It's a moving car and the doors are-"

Matt froze.

The stranger's jaw went slack. "Well isn't that odd," he murmured, extending a pale and slightly wet hand. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Now, what are you doing with my face?"

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**_AN: Thanks goes to my beta-reader for editing! Please review, favorite, or follow!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: Sorry it's taken so long to update. I'm on vacation and there's been stuff and shenanigans... Lovely word, Shenanigans. Anyway, I hope to update once a week, but I might fail this deadline sometimes. Sorry. Please be patient with me. I figure quality is better than quantity, ya know? I do not own Doctor Who, obviously, and Matt is based after a real person, but I'm making up a lot about him as I go along. So here it is! have fun;) Poor Matt..._**

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Chapter Two

Matt felt like he might start hyperventilating; the stranger before him didn't just look like him, he looked exactly like him. His jaw did a free fall to the floor and so did the other man's.

The sopping wet stranger wore the Doctor's typical attire, a tweed jacket, white dress shirt, black pants, suspenders and a dark blue bow-tie. This was the easy part of replicating his character. It's the face that sealed the deal.

"I- wow, you're even better than Matt Elliot! How do you- you look exactly like me!"

The stranger frowned, "Sorry, who? Matt Elliot? What are you doing with my-"

Matt shook the man's word away, "Is it like plastic surgery or something? That has to be it. I've heard some people do that sort of thing." He frankly was too startled to be angry now.

The Doctor frowned."Ah, no." He scratched his neck. "I just look like this." Suddenly the man looked up, a frighteningly serious expression on his face. This person was either a heck of an actor or truly thought he was the Doctor… "The question isn't what I'm doing with your face, it's what you're doing with mine."

Matt blinked, "What is that supposed to-"

The man suddenly jumped forward, tumbling awkwardly into the passenger seat next to Matt. He pulled something out of his pocket that Matt recognized immediately. It was his Doctor's screwdriver. "Are you a Zygon? Cause if you are, you're rubbish at it. Look at my clothes! I'd never wear something like that!"

Matt jumped away from the probing screwdriver."Stop that! I'm not a- not a- stop!"

The Doctor ignored his protests, continuing to scan him with the buzzing stick. "You aught to know, I'm the Bringer of Darkness, the Oncoming Storm, the last of the Time-" He paused, "What am I telling you all that for? Tell me the whole plan, now!"

"What?!" Matt screeched. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He held his hands up in surrender, "You're crazy!" he cried, "I'm not a bloody Zygon! I'm human, I swear! No universe domination plans here," he laughed nervously. What a weird reaction, he thought inwardly, some guy attacks me and I laugh. What's wrong with me?

"AH!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling back. He had a smug look on his face, like he'd caught the actor in a trap, "But you do know what a Zygon is!"

Matt shielded his face from the screwdriver, swatting it away, "Of course I know what a Zygon is!"

"But if you were human, then how would you know? Humans aren't aware of the existence of aliens- well, not the general public, that is."

Matt gaped. The man was insane! "I've been a fan of the show for ages!" he cried, pressed against the cold glass window.

Now the Doctor looked confused. He cocked his head, slowly placed the screwdriver in his lap, and resumed a more normal sitting position. "What do you mean show? What show?"

Maybe it was a bad idea to come home without a body guard of some sort…

Matt frowned, "The TV show, ya know, Doctor Who?"

The Doctor said nothing and just appeared puzzled, "Doctor Who?" he said slowly.

Right, Matt thought, the man is obviously insane. "Yeah," he continued in a calmer tone, "I'm Matt Smith, the lead actor." He pointed at himself. "I play the Doctor."

"The Doctor..." the man said slowly. Then a light popped on in his mind, "Oh! I get it!" he shouted excitedly, "Parallel universe, it has to be! I knew the TARDIS was up to something! And since I ran into you, or well, you ran into me, I'm guessing she meant me to find you…"

Matt just blinked. At least he didn't think he was a Zygon anymore. "Look, you obviously have had some sort of nervous break down or something. How about I drive you to a hospital or-"

"NO!" the Doctor roared, turning on him, "No hospitals. Ever."

Matt held up his hands in surrender as the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at him again, "Alright, alright, no hospitals- got it."

The Doctor frowned, biting his lip."What do I do with you now?" he asked, "The TARDIS can probably make it through the crack to pick us up and then take us back if we're fast." He frowned at the sonic, hitting it a few times. "I'll just give her a signal to lock onto. Could even make it easier if we drive to the end of the crack where it hit the 't be far from here." The last few sentences were mumbled more to himself than to Matt.

"Wait, us?" Matt laughed, "No way. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're crazy."

The Doctor sighed in exasperation, "Don't you see? There's a reason that of all the worlds I could have popped into, I landed in your lap. I need to figure out why, so until I do, you are sticking with me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Matt stated resolutely, "and there's no way you can make me."  
"Try me," muttered the Gallifreyan, pointing the screwdriver at the steering wheel.

Suddenly the car sputtered to life and rolled off the side of the road into the hills. "What?!" Matt cried, hands unsuccessfully wrestling with the wheel. He pumped the brakes, which also had no affect. "How-" he glanced fearfully at his character, "How are you doing this?" he squeaked.

The Doctor put his feet up on the dash. "I could explain, but that would probably take quite a long while, and you wouldn't understand most of it anyway. Basically, my screwdriver is controlling your car."

"But it's just a toy!" They rolled over a rock, getting farther and farther away from the black strip of tarmac. "It's a prop!"

Snorting, the Doctor didn't answer at first. "Is it really?" he asked sarcastically.

Pointing the sonic at the radio, the Doctor made the radio zip through a dozen channels, spit out a disk, and begin blaring Mexican mariachi.

Matt shouted in absolute terror. He jammed his hands over his ears. "Stop! Stop! Stop it, whatever you're doing!"

Instantly, the radio quieted, but the car drove on at a breakneck pace. The Doctor glanced at him sheepishly. "Sorry. I had to see whether you've experienced alien technology before… obviously not."

Matt just stared, eyes wide. "This is crazy," he stated, slumping in the seat. "Absolutely insane, bonkers, off the top, baloogely, mad-"

"I get it, Matt. That's your name, right?" the Doctor asked with a yawn. He didn't seem to be worried that they were flying at ninety miles per hour up and down the hills.

Matt frowned, knuckles white on the arm rest. "Yeah, why?" A strange giddiness threatened to engulf him, but he pushed the feeling away. Why couldn't he just be terrified like a normal person?

The Doctor shrugged, "You must be a parallel version of me. I wonder where the name Matt came from…"

"That's-" a sudden rock, sent them in the air for a second or two before they landed with a bone shaking jar. "Ridiculous!" Matt finished. "There's no such thing as parallel- parallel universes!"

It felt weird even contemplating the notion.

The Doctor just ignored him. "Whatever you want to think," he murmured. The Doctor figured this human would realize his mistake in a few moments anyway. The alien sat up, looking out the window. "Ah-HA!' he shouted suddenly, rolling down the window. Instantly, blinding rain filled the car. The alien didn't seem to care, sticking his head out in the storm and calling out a name Matt couldn't catch.

"What?" he called.

"There she is!" The Doctor grinned. "The beauty!" He pointed in the distance, where Matt could just barely make out the outline of a bluish box.

He stiffened. It's a prop. It has to be a prop.

The fast moving vehicle covered the distance in only moments, grounding to a halt about ten feet from the police box. The car spun in circles for a moment, the brakes slowing them down. Giddiness filled Matt's throat, and he almost wanted to laugh at the odd sensation of being tossed around. Stop it, he told himself, don't be a thrill seeker.

The Doctor threw open the passenger door and unlocked Matt's, which Matt had been too terrified to realize was even locked. "Come along, Smith!" he cried, bounding through the mud and rain. He paused, murmuring, "Smith, interesting…" Lightning flashed above them, setting the scene in an eerie light.

Matt looked up, a hand shielding his eyes from the rain. "What was that?" he cried, jogging up to the, well, the TARDIS where the Doctor struggled to open the door.

"The crack is closing. If we don't get through in the next-" He checked his watch. "two minutes, I'll be stranded."

Matt stepped back. "I'm not going in there with you."

Thunder shook the ground under their feet like the roar of a giant beast. Matt's eyes were drawn to the sky once more, and his jaw dropped. Above them, a large, vaguely crescent shaped crack had split the sky. Light poured through it in torrents, making it seem like twilight instead of the middle of night. "What the- I- no, this…" he couldn't seem to string his words together. He pointed up. "That's it- that's the crack, the one that always follows the Doctor in the fifth season."

The Doctor glanced at him in annoyance and possibly confusion. "What?"

"The crack!" Matt cried, "Like on Amelia's wall."

The Doctor gave him an odd look before nodding slowly. "Precisely," he shouted over the wind, "Now come on! Either you get in the TARDIS, or get swallowed by the crack just like everything else within a five mile radius."

"What?!"

"Don't worry," said the Doctor, "we'll be safe inside. The crack will spit us out into our- I mean, my universe."

The Doctor finally got the door open, and stepped inside. "Well?" he cried. "Aren't you coming?"

Matt took three steps back. "I- I can't! What about my family! I can't just leave my universe!"

The Doctor huffed impatiently. "The TARDIS managed to get me through the crack; I'm sure she could spit you back home when she's done with you."

"And how long will that take?"  
"Ah, well..." The Doctor fiddled with his bow tie. "Honestly?"

"That would be appreciated," Matt shouted over the wind.

The Doctor sighed, glancing anxiously at the sky, "I haven't the slightest. A few minutes? A few weeks maybe?" He frowned at Matt's stricken expression. "Look, you don't have much of a choice. If you don't get it here, the crack will suck you in without protection and you'll have never existed."  
A frown sewed itself to Matt's face. "Promise you can get me back?"  
The Doctor nodded distractedly. "Yes, yes. Now COME ON!"

A roar rippled the air and blew the hair on Matt's forehead backwards. "FINE!" he cried. What other choice did he have? The crack dimmed and then grew bright again as Matt threw himself through the doors of the four by seven foot box.

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**_AN: Rate, review, PM me. Tell me what you think! Reviews motivate me more than you can possibly know! Thanks goes to my beta reader for editing! See ya next week!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN:Thank you for the enormous approval! Your reviews are SO encouraging. I actually thought this sort of story is silly until I read one and decided I wanted to try to make one of my own. Anywho, it's been great hearing from you all! enjoy!**_

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Chapter Three

Tumbling to the floor, Matt scrambled out of the way as the Doctor flung the doors shut, nearly cutting off his foot.

"About time!" The Gallifreyan cried, hopping over the stunned man and whizzing around the console in a frantic manner. The TARDIS wheezed as she took off, flying upward. Her lights flashed in warning. The moment they hit the crack above them, the ship shuttered and shook, throwing her passengers about roughly.

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted at the machine. "Get us through! I know you can!"

Matt, meanwhile, was knocked flat in amazement as he sat near the door. He stared into the large room that somehow fit inside the tiny box. The glass floor let him look down into the wiring and such beneath the center console. The console itself was exactly as it always was on set, but with a bit more...life, if that was possible. Gears and levers and buttons and turnable thingies crowded the space, seeming to shove each other for room. The Doctor danced around in circles, pressing buttons and hanging on for dear life. Matt followed suit when a shock wave nearly knocked him off the platform.

Eyes wide, he stared in shock. "I can't believe this is real, like, really real!"

The Doctor spared Matt an odd look. "What other sort of real would it be?"

But Matt didn't hear him. "How- how is this even possible?"

"It's another-"

"Dimension, I know." Matt finished. "That's not what I meant."

The Doctor paused in his mad race to look at the actor. Surprise danced in his eyes. "How do you know that?"

Matt rolled his eyes, hopping up to the console. "I've been playing you for quite a while now, and I was a fan of the show way before that. I know how the 'bigger on the inside' deal works." He frowned, leaning against a handlebar. "What I don't get is how this is actually happening. I mean, you're a fictional character!"

The Doctor laughed, "Really? Do I look fictional to you?" Then he spun away, clicking a button or two.

"I-" Matt shook himself, running a hand through his tousled hair. "Maybe I had a nervous breakdown, or this is all a dream. Yeah, that would make sense!"

"Oh please!" The Doctor snorted, grabbing a bar as the TARDIS shook in protest. She didn't like going through cracks in the fabric of the universe... Not that much of anything did. "Matt," he cried suddenly, "put your foot here!"

Matt blinked and then complied, setting his foot next to the Doctor's. "Why?"

The Doctor lifted his foot and stomped down on Matt's black converse-clad foot,

"OW!" he cried, hopping away from his mirror image, "What was THAT for?!"

"See? No pain in dreams. Therefore, this isn't a dream."

Matt opened his mouth and then shut it again. "I don't even know how to react to this."

"Then don't," the Doctor stated with a wide smile. "Just hold on; we're almost there!"

Suddenly, fire exploded out of the console, punctuating the moans of the TARDIS.  
Heat licked Matt's face, and he leaped backward awkwardly. Stumbling into the console, the actor snatched at the controls randomly, attempting to get a grip on something, anything. A large lever met his hand.

He grabbed it, it flipped, and the TARDIS instantly plunged into darkness.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Shouted the Gallifreyan as he desperately looked for the lights."Why did you touch her?"

Matt stumbled back. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't- I mean, it was an accident. I fell into it- uh- her!"

The Doctor huffed in annoyance, finally finding the lever and switching on the lights. It was only then that the two men realized they were no longer being tossed about.

"Do you hear that?" the Doctor whispered.

Matt frowned, listening. "No, it's just quiet and sort of humming."

The Doctor nodded. "Exactly." A grin spilt his face. "We made it through the crack," he whispered, like he'd discovered something naughty. He spun to the screen and the Time Lord's eyes grew wide. "The TARDIS needed a tiny bit more energy to get through, that's why we felt all the turbulence, but..."

"But what?" Matt breathed, still catching his breath. He straightened his black t-shirt and jeans.

The Doctor frowned. "The lights," he squeaked, glancing at the actor. "You turned off the lights?"

Nodding Matt tried to look at the screen over the Gallifreyan's shoulder, but the Doctor swiveled away. "Yeah," Matt answered. "Not on purpose, though. Why? Is it important?"

The Doctor spun around. "Just a bit," he said with a nervous laugh. "Turning off the lights at that precise moment enabled the TARDIS to create the tiny bit of energy she still needed, getting us out of the Void..."

Matt blinked. "Well that's lucky."

The Doctor snorted. "Lucky indeed!" He studied the actor for a moment. He looked just like the Time Lord, brownish hair that flopped over his forehead, a defined chin, lanky awkward movements, like he wasn't sure what to do with his limbs, it was all there. And yet, the man insisted he was just an actor.

The Doctor shrugged the thought away for later. Matt was frightened, the Doctor could tell, but he respected the man's attempts to hide it. Giving him a small smile, the Doctor patted the console gently. "She must trust you," he murmured, "to show you the lever she needed someone to pull."

For some reason this made Matt feel warm inside. He wasn't quite sure why, but he was glad the TARDIS approved of him. "You think so?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" The Doctor grinned, spinning away.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps interrupted the two men's conversation. Bare feet padding across glass.

The Doctor turned toward the sound, smacking himself in the forehead in a way Matt could replicate to a tee if he so wished. "Oh dear, I totally forgot!" He snagged Matt's arm, pulling him toward a spiraling staircase where a woman, clad in a nightie, wandered down. She screeched at the sight of them, stumbling backwards.

"Karen!" Matt cried at the same time as the Doctor shouted, "Amelia!"

They glanced at each other in confusion, "Really?" the Doctor snorted, "Where did you get Karen?"

"That's her name!" Matt insisted. Then he paused, "Well, I mean, Karen is the name of the girl who plays Amy."

"Really, though!" the Doctor frowned, "Does she even look like a Karen?"

"I don't know, that's just what-"

"Um, excuse me!" Amy piped up.

Both men quieted.

"Right," the red head murmured. Her eyes bounced like pin-balls back and forth between Matt and the Doctor. She finally settled on the Doctor "I-um..." She scratched her head in embarrassment. "Am I interrupting something?"

Matt and the Doctor glanced at each other. "Ah- no," the alien said slowly. Then he grinned. "Matt, meet Amy Pond. Amy, meet Matt."

Matt gulped, turning to the mirror image of his closest friend. She didn't know who he was, because the woman wasn't Karen. "Uh- hi." He coughed, giving a quick thumbs-up.

Amy waved shyly, turning her attention back to the Doctor. She finished padding down the stairs and stood next to him. Turning a knob and pressing a button, the Doctor returned her gaze.

"I-" Amy paused, gathering her words. "Does this sort of thing usually happen?"

Matt snorted, but otherwise said nothing. He was interested, wondering how the Doctor would reply.

Laughing nervously, the Doctor held her shoulders. "Well, it's all a bit complicated. If you mean talking to identical looking, parallel versions of me, then no, that doesn't often happen."

Matt felt just slightly defensive. "How come I'm a parallel version of you? What if you're just a parallel version of me?" It occurred to him that he wasn't supposed to be believing of this, but then figured he could go back to doubting his sanity later.

The Doctor seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that's not probable."

"Why not?" Amy looked amused. She turned from the Doctor toward Matt before the Gallifreyan could respond. "Are you an alien too?" She grinned. "Like a little slug or somethin' in a human suit?"

Matt gaped. "I- no. No, this is me. This is what I look like." Why did everyone think he was an alien?

"And for the record," the Doctor leaped in, "I'm not a slug thingy either."

Amy didn't look quite convinced, and ignored the Doctor. "But you are an alien- like him?" She pointed at the Doctor.

Matt shook his head slowly, looking to the Doctor for help.

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor whipped out the sonic. "Well," he said, pointing the screwdriver at Matt, "according to the sonic, he's totally human." Suddenly he paused, looking at the screwdriver and scanning Matt again. "Well, except for that."

Matt scowled, wondering what the Doctor was playing at. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Amy seemed to be thinking the same thing. "What is it, Doctor?" She leaned over the alien's shoulder, just slightly too close for a woman who was going to be married in the morning.

The Doctor didn't notice. "There's this- this energy signature coming off of-" He looked up at Matt. "Are you sure you've never had contact with alien- alien anything before?"

Shaking his head quickly, Matt tried to read whatever the Doctor saw on the sonic, but the Doctor pushed him away. "What is it?" he asked, more curious than irritated now.

The Doctor bit his lip. "I'm not sure. You have a unique energy signature. It's following you in waves."

Frowning, Matt leaned against the metal railing around the TARDIS console. "Why?"

The Doctor inserted the screwdriver into the console and typed madly on his computer for a moment. "I haven't the faintest," he murmured.

Amy looked curiously at the two men. There was an air of tension between them and yet at the same time, it was as if they'd known each other for years. How odd… she thought to herself. "Wait a moment." She pointed at Matt. "You're from a parallel universe, right?"

Matt shrugged. "Honestly, if you're looking for answers don't turn to me."

Amy nodded. "Yes, but you seem more capable of explaining stuff without all the technobabble."

The Doctor looked miffed. "I don't talk technobabble!"

Matt snorted. "Actually you do, Doctor. Believe me, I'd know." He turned back to Amy. "But seriously, up until now I thought this was all just fiction, a show on the telly, actually."

Amy blinked. "The Doctor is on the telly?"

Nodding, Matt scratched his neck. "I'm an actor- his actor actually. I play the part of the Doctor in a TV show called Doctor Who."

The redhead took that in for a moment. A grin lit her face. "Am I in it?"

Matt gulped slowly, glancing at the floor and then back up. "Um, yeah, where I come from you're Karen Gillan." And one of my closest friends, he thought silently.

Amy seemed to think this was great fun. She laughed, "So let me get this straight, you're from a parallel universe where the Doctor is just an actor who plays the Doctor."

Matt frowned. "Well, yes, but I'm not the Doctor. I'm Matt, Matt Smith."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Right, okay, whatever. The point is that maybe you have a weird energy reading because you're from the parallel universe." She smirked, proud of herself.

Nodding slowly, Matt turned toward the Doctor, who was still processing the energy reading. "I guess that makes sense, right Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at him and then back down at the screen. "No, it's ridiculous, parallel universes don't do-" Suddenly the Doctor stiffened.

Matt frowned. "What?"

Quickly, the Doctor twirled around and closed whatever he was looking at. "Actually, on further notice, I do believe you're right. Parallel universe,weird energy readings. Brilliant, Pond!" He snatched a smile from Amy and then raced past them.

Matt knew the Doctor was hiding something, something that would probably be important, but he also knew that if the alien didn't want to share it, there was nothing he could do to convince the Doctor to do otherwise. Sighing, Matt followed the Doctor with Amy trailing behind.

"Amy Pond!" the Doctor cried, jumping down the steps. "Would you like to know what I keep in here?" He gestured to the front door of the TARDIS.

Grinning, Amy forgot about the energy readings for the moment. "What?" she asked like an eager child.

Matt smirked. He suddenly remembered filming this scene. "Absolutely everything," he whispered at the same time the Doctor shouted it.

Flinging open the doors, the Doctor looked out approvingly and stepped aside so that the fellow travelers could see. "Amy, Matt, welcome to the universe."

* * *

_**AN: On a side note, I want you to know that I am in no way presuming to know how exactly Matt Smith (the real one) would react in a situation like this. I'm just giving my best guess. Using a bit of what I've seen from off-set clips of Matt Smith, and a whole lot of imagination, I hope to create a realistic character. Thanks for Reading! Thanks goes to my beta reader for editing! Please review, follow, and favorite!**_

_**Until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Sorry about the delay. I've been having a hard time getting to a computer... Enjoy!**_

* * *

Chapter Four

Gasping, Amy faltered slightly, and she stumbled into Matt, who was equally as stunned.

"No way," she breathed. "It's a- it's a hologram of some sort, or- or,"

The Doctor snorted. "You're standing in the TARDIS- Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. Where else would she be?" He turned to Amy, who frowned.

Amy leaned forward cautiously, and then jerked back. "How are we breathing?" she suddenly demanded, a hand over her mouth.

A small switch flicked on his mind, and Matt recalled filming this episode. How could he forget? This was one of his favorite scenes. "Extended the air bubble, we're fine," he spouted suddenly.

The Doctor blinked. "Ah, yeah- what he said." Shaking his head, the Doctor filed that outburst for another day.

He turned his attention the ginger. "Get out there," he said, smiling.

"What?" Amy frowned.

The Doctor grabbed her arm and pushed her. "No, really- get out!"

Amy shrieked, scrambling desperately for the Doctor's hand. The Doctor just laughed.

Watching in silent amazement, Matt saw Amy slowly float above the TARDIS, her hair splaying outward like a fiery halo. Realizing she wasn't about to plunge to her death, Amy laughed.

Sure Matt had filmed this scene, but there was a difference between holding Karen's hand as she was suspended by ropes in front of a green screen, and actually seeing Amy Pond float among the stars, real stars.

The sight reminded him of a time he cut open a bunch of glow sticks when he was about nine and flung them around until he and his bedroom were covered in multicolored dots. In the dark, it was like standing in space, among the galaxies. Matt remembered flicking on and off the lights, creating a dramatic effect as all the droplets of mildly toxic glow stick juice zoomed into existence the moment the lights turned off.

The memory brought a warm feeling to the middle of his chest as he recalled his mother tip-toeing into the bedroom. He'd flicked on the lights before she could see what a mess he'd made. The stars in his room where his secret and he never told anyone about the incident.

"That's so cool!" Matt whisper-shouted, momentarily succumbing to his excitement.

The Doctor turned to smile at him. He wriggled his eyebrows, jumping up and down like a child. "I know, isn't it?"

Now Matt glanced downward. Below them floated a disk shaped conglomeration of scrap metal hastily melded into a ship. In the center of the vessel, tall buildings poked out like spikes on the spine of a dinosaur. A massive Union Jack was painted across the smoothed surface. Oh dear, Matt remembered that ship.

"Look at that!" the Doctor said, pulling Amy in and pointing at the liner. "That's England- right there, but in space!"

Amy looked in wonder at the ship before turning to Matt. "Explain?"

"When the radiation got too high on Earth because of solar flares, all the people built ships and took off into the stars." The actor laughed, shocked to be seeing the ship in real life, and surprised he remembered all those details. "That ship, the Starship UK," he said, pointing at it, "is all of England put in a metal, ah- space box." He gestured with his hands, hoping it was helpful.

Apparently it was. Amy nodded. "Cool!"

The Doctor agreed enthusiastically. "Shall we go, then?" Shutting the doors, the Doctor spun to the center console and pressed a few buttons.

"Wait," Amy spoke, "we can, like, actually go down there?" her Scottish accent bled through in her excitement.

The Doctor grinned, "Of course! What else would we do?"

Matt just shrugged, listening in contentment to the sound of the TARDIS landing. There was a resounding 'wumph', and the ground settled beneath three sets of traveling feet. Look at me, Matt thought, I'm seeing all of this for real! Not just filming on a set, for real!

Then he frowned, pushing away the giddiness in his chest. No need to get overly excited. Traveling with the Doctor was amazing, but it was also extremely dangerous. Matt knew that much.

Stumbling over to the TARDIS doors, the Doctor flung them open and stepped out into a hall full of people rushing here and there. "Amy, Matt, welcome to the Starship UK!" crowed the Doctor, spinning in a circle.

"Rule one: We never interfere in the lives of other individuals- we are observers only." Amy nodded gravely and Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Rule two," the Doctor continued, "Don't wander off." He pointed at Matt. "Especially you. I don't know what- what you might mess up."

"How come I mess stuff up and she doesn't?" Matt protested, gesturing at Amy.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well if you're anything like me- this me that is- then you probably will. Besides, you're not the sit-quiet and do-what-you're-told type."

Matt shrugged, supposing that wasn't a bad thing. "No, that's more like you're husband." He spoke to Amy without thought.

Amy frowned. "What did you-"

Realizing his mistake, Matt backpedaled. Crap. He really needed to be more careful. "Sorry- I meant fiancé. Shutting up now."

Nodding slowly, Amy frowned at the actor. "Right…"

Something caught the Doctor's eye, and he rushed away. Apparently, the alien hadn't heard Matt's comment. Amy and Matt watched the Doctor pick up a glass of water off a table and set it on the floor. They frowned in bafflement. Laying prostrate, the Doctor peered into the glass.

And he tells us not to wander off… Matt thought to himself as he peered out the door.

Amy opened her mouth and then closed it. She decided to let Matt's odd comment pass. "Isn't he sort of insulting himself, when he says you're like him and-"

"Yeah- I don't even know," Matt interrupted. "Sometimes the words in his head sound different when he says them out loud."

Amy snorted, exiting the TARDIS.

Grinning, in spite of his greatest efforts to seem uninterested, Matt tumbled out of the time machine after Amy. He looked up, tripped on the bottom of the door and nearly fell on his face. "It's- it's so big!" he exclaimed, arms extended. The set he filmed this scene on was much, much smaller with a great deal of green screen lining the edges. He spun in a circle, taking it all in.

The ceiling rested high above them, obscured from view by smog. There were multiple floors that lined the walls, some which were clearly front porches, and others that were shop fronts. The entire town square had a sort of grunge look, the metal walls stained with smoke and grime, and the cold floor smudged with boot grease and tar. People rushed about on foot or by bicycle, jostling the travelers and not paying either of them any mind. Matt thought the entire scene was brilliant.

Amy nodded slowly, equally awed. A smile began to form on her lips, but suddenly she froze. "I just had a sudden realization."

Matt tore his eyes from the view to look at the redhead. "Yeah? What?"  
She bit her lip, leaning in and whispering, "Matt, I'm still in my nightly."  
Matt's eyes widened, and then a small smirk grew on his lips. Chuckling, Matt covered his mouth.  
"It's not funny!" she protested, swatting him. This only made Matt laugh harder.  
"I- I'm sorry," he snorted, wiping his eyes, "I'll stop- see? Stopped." He smirked.  
Amy just rolled her eyes.  
Suddenly, they heard a voice, "Oi! You lot! What are you giggling about?" The Doctor skipped their way, frowning. He'd replaced the glass, making vague excuses about a runaway goldfish.

Amy stopped her jesting and frowned. "I'm in the future, right?" she asked, glancing at Matt, who nodded. "Like hundreds of years in the future," she continued, sadder by the second. "I've been dead for centuries."

"Oh... lovely. You're a cheery one." The Doctor rolled his eyes, scratching his neck. "Never mind dead. Look at this place. Isn't it wrong?"

Instantly the desire to laugh died away and dread, like stones, settled in Matt's stomach. How could he forget? How did he forget what was going on here? Of course something was wrong, something was always wrong…

Coughing, Matt nodded, running a hand through his hair. Should he tell them what he knew? What would happen if he did? What if it messes stuff up or something? I can't just blurt everything out…

Jeez. Was this what River had to deal with?

"Well come on, then," the Doctor urged Amy, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Matt didn't notice, but the Doctor's eyes were trained on the actor even as he addressed Amy.

Amy frowned in concentration, rising to the challenge. Matt knew what they would find, and after a moment he found the "problem."

About half a second later, Amy's eyes zeroed in on a small girl of about ten or eleven years. Sitting on a red bench the same color as her sweater, she clung to it like she was afraid the floor would fall from under her feet any second. "Her?" Amy asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Good job, Pond!" He smiled sadly. "She's crying."

"One little girl crying. So?"

The Doctor pointed at Amy. "Crying silently. I mean, children cry because they want attention. 'Cause they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently it's 'cause they just can't stop."

Matt had always liked that particular line. It sounded smooth and rolled off his tongue easily. If he had paid any attention, he would have seen the Doctor's curious eye on him. The alien watched, wondering. Matt was a mystery he intended to solve, but he couldn't right now. Right now the Doctor needed to figure out why the girl was crying.

"Right..." he murmured, "she's sobbing in plain view of everyone and no one stops to help. So... they already know what's wrong."

"It's something they accept in their society..." Matt interjected, feeling the Doctor's logic. "A-"

"Necessary evil," the Doctor finished. "Very good, Matt."

Amy watched the exchange between the two men with interest. There was an unusual dynamic in the way they spoke to each other, like two parts of a whole. They were completely separate, and, at the same time, totally intertwined. The best comparison Amy could come up with was the way twins spoke to each other. However, even that was at a much milder level than what she witnessed now.

"So what do we do?" Amy asked.  
The Doctor didn't respond for a moment. "Wait here," he said, starting forward toward the girl. He snatched the sleeve of Matt's t-shirt and pulled him along. Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms but she didn't move.

"Oi!" the actor protested. "Let go of me!"

The Doctor glanced back at his mirror image for a moment. "Oh- yes. Of course." He released his hold, "But you stick by me, Matt. I can't risk you tangling everything up with this foreknowledge of yours."

Matt blinked. "How do you know-?"

Sighing, the Doctor, having almost reached the girl on the bench, stopped and turned to Matt. "It's obvious. You keep slipping up- nasty habit. You ought to curb it."

Matt snorted. So the Doctor had been paying attention. "Right. Don't say anything about the future. Got it."

They reached the girl and the Doctor leaned down rather suddenly, bumping into her a bit violently. "Oh sorry dearie, clumsy me."

Matt could see from several feet away what the Doctor was doing. He rolled his eyes.

The Doctor leaned down as if he'd dropped something, and as he came up, he bumped into the sorrowful girl once more. "Apologies," he murmured. Apparently, he dropped the non-existent item again and reached for it.

You've got to be joking... Matt thought. He couldn't just stand and let the Doctor make such a fool of himself.

Pushing forward, he pulled in front of the alien and patted his shoulder. "That's enough, John." Matt spoke like he was talking to an invalid. Turning his attention from the Doctor, Matt's eyes rested on the girl. Maddie, wasn't that her name? No... That wasn't right.

Mandy- that's it.

Smiling indulgently, Matt gestured to the spot on the bench next to her. "Do you mind?"

The girl look confused for a moment and shrugged.

Taking that as a yes, Matt sat down quickly, keeping the soft smile on his face. "Forgive my brother, he's a bit not right in the head." Matt glanced up, enjoying the indignant expression the Doctor wore.

The girl didn't say anything, still clinging to the bench.

After a moment of silence, Matt took a breath and said, "I'm Matt. What's your name?"

It took a moment, but the girl finally responded, her voice thick, "Mandy."

Matt appeared to think about that answer for a moment. "Why are you crying, Mandy?"

For the first time, the girl showed an expression besides sadness. "I'm not crying," she insisted, wiping her eyes. Her gaze lingered on Matt's face for a moment. "What do you care anyway?"

In that instant, Matt was reminded of a scene from one of his favorite books.  
"No wonder you were crying!"  
"I wasn't crying about that! I was crying because my shadow won't stick to me... and I WASN'T crying!"

Matt smiled sadly. "Alright, Mandy. That's okay. Would you like to see something cool?" The girl furrowed her brow, her interest caught.

Digging into his pocket, Matt's hand met with three rubber bands, an old movie ticket, a candy wrapper, a smooth stone he picked up a while back, and a shiny coin.

Taking the coin out, he rolled it over his knuckles, made it disappear and then appear again behind the girl's ear.

Mandy's lips tugged up slightly. "My da does that trick," she murmured, her eyes blurred with memory.

"Well you know what, Mandy?" Matt replied "Your da must be a pretty cool guy."

Mandy's smile got a bit larger. She nodded rapidly.

Matt paused for a moment, looking over the girl. "Don't you worry, Mandy. Me, the Do- my brother, and that woman with the red hair over there? We're going to fix everything."

Mandy blinked, slow and trusting. Suddenly a bell sounded in the distance. The girl straightened at the sound. "Oh!" she cried. "I've got to go!" She stood up, gathering her school bag. "It was nice meeting you, Matt." Mandy paused. "Thank you."

Then she was gone, swallowed by the living masses of people.

Matt stared after her for a moment, barely registering the Doctor's presence. Glancing up smugly, he expected to see the Doctor's miffed face, but instead he saw sad, almost angry eyes.

"That was cruel," murmured the Doctor, eyes roaming the actor's face.

Matt frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, the Doctor turned away, forcing Matt to follow him back to where Amy stood. "Giving her hope like that. Don't ever make promises- not that sort of promise. You never know whether you can keep it."

"But I do know!"

The Doctor scrubbed his face. "How far in my future have you filmed?"

Matt thought for a moment, "Several hundred years, I should think. I know what happens in this episode."

"You don't understand!" the Doctor insisted. "Can't you see? Even if you do know the outcome, the fact that you're here changes everything! By having that conversation instead of me nicking her identification, which would have been much simpler, you've affected the outcome you remember filming."

Matt was silent, processing this information. It made sense, a horrible amount of sense. "Shoot," he muttered, "you're right."

The Doctor nodded. "Of course I'm right."

Reaching Amy, they dropped the subject for the moment. "Where'd she go?" she asked. Clearly, Amy had watched them interact with the girl.

"Deck 27. Apple Sesame Block. Building 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner," Matt volunteered, "if memory serves me well..."

Stepping forward, the Doctor took up a carefree attitude.

"I need you to follow her," he instructed Amy. Glancing about, he gestured at a strange booth with a plastic doll of some sort within a glass dome. "And ask her about those things- the smiling fellas in the booths. They're everywhere."

And they were. Matt noticed them now that the Doctor had pointed them out. Smilers. They were at practically every corner. Shivering, Matt turned away. Those things creeped him out more than he would admit.

Amy nodded excitedly. "And what will you two be doing?"

"Staying out of trouble," the Doctor responded. "Badly."

Smiling in amusement, Amy addressed the Doctor, "Let me get it straight- we never interfere with the lives of other individuals...unless there are children crying."

Matt nodded. "Now you're getting it, Kar- I mean, Amy."

Grinning, Amy raced off after the girl, nightie and all. What an interesting woman… Matt thought.

They stared after her for a moment, neither of the men breaking the silence.

"Well then..."Matt stated, "I suppose we should start staying out of trouble."

"I absolutely agree."

Matt grinned. If what the Doctor said about him affecting the future was true, then they had a serious issues to work through, but he didn't want to think about that right now. Right now Matt Smith was finally having an adventure, a real adventure. "Off we go then, Doctor?"

Locking eyes, the Doctor let an impish smirk slip past his lips. "Most definitely."

With that the two men took off, intent to stay out of trouble. Badly.

**_AN: Thanks goes to my beta-reader for editing theses chapters!_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with other fanfics. Anyway, it's pretty long so I hope you enjoy:)**_

Chapter Five

Matt and the Doctor wove in and out of the complicated halls, completely and utterly lost. "You _do_ know where the engine room is, right?" Matt kept pace with the Doctor. Their similarity brought a few curious glances, but otherwise the two men went unnoticed.

"Of course I do!" the Doctor affirmed, not looking at him.

Rolling his eyes, Matt noted the graffiti on the wall. They'd passed it at least twice now. "You sure about that?"

The Doctor exhaled, stopping suddenly. "Really, Matt. I've been doing this a heck of a lot longer than you. I know how to find the engine room on a space ship. Actually, one time there was this bottle of goop- had to get it to Princess Nerferi, heck of a gal, she was. That ship had a total of two hundred seventy-six engine rooms, only one of which-"

Matt rolled his eyes again. "Doctor," he interrupted, "I can tell when you're trying to be impressive. You're lying."

The alien stared down at Matt in a way that was supposed to be intimidating. "That's not even fair," he muttered when Matt didn't look away.

Matt chuckled. "We could always ask for directions."

Appalled, the Doctor leaned backwards. "Oh yes, that's right. Just ask for directions- like anyone would be willing-"

"The engine room, you say?" a voice interrupted.

Matt and the Doctor swiveled around. "That's right," Matt offered. "Do you know the way?"

The boy before them wore clothes just slightly too small. His hair was muddy and his face covered in grease. Nodding rapidly, he pointed left. "Two blocks down, turn left of Harwood Drive. Course, it's all forbidden to go back there, but you can get in if the Smilers don't catch ya."

The Doctor didn't bother to reply, instead, shooting down the hall with a whoop.

Matt sighed. "Thanks kid."

Then he took off after the Doctor.

Matt didn't need the sign above the door to recognize the engine room when he saw it. Caution tape covered the door and the space in front of it, which, out of habit, made Matt pause. What would happen if they got caught?

Thoughts about his predicament filled his mind once more. Just for a few minutes, Matt had allowed himself to enjoy the experience of adventuring, but now reality came crashing down on him. This wasn't a TV show. If they messed up, it was game over. He couldn't rewind the tape, couldn't spontaneously revive like the Doctor. The Doctor said nothing was certain now. Matt's presence could change everything.

His heart beating fast now, Matt stepped over the tape and tip-toed through the open door. There wasn't much he could do but stick as close to the Doctor as possible and hope he didn't accidentally ruin everything.

Then again, maybe being so close to the Doctor was more dangerous. Perhaps after this adventure was wrapped up he should make the Doctor take him home. And if the Doctor couldn't…well, Matt didn't want to think about that.

The Doctor was already busy within the engine room. He sonic-ed a panel covering the electronics of the engine and prying it open, sighed. "Props," he muttered, fingering disconnected wiring. "All of it- just a front."

Matt nodded, not trusting himself to do anything else. "So?" he urged. "What now?"

"What now, indeed," a voice spoke from the shadows. The Doctor spun around, pointing the sonic at the intruder. The female voice chuckled. "Don't you know it's rude to point, love?"

The Doctor gaped, but put the sonic down to his side. "Who are you? What are you doing in here?"

"I might ask the same thing." The woman stepped into view. Her skin was a creamy, milk chocolate color, accented by her crimson robe. Curly black hair sprung untamed from her scalp, and a porcelain mask covered her face. "Not many people notice the simple truth in a glass of water. They're too busy with their lives to see what's staring them in the face… But you notice, don't you, Doctor?"

Her gaze traveled from the Doctor to Matt and back again. If Matt wasn't mistaken, he saw confusion pucker her mouth for just an instant.

The Doctor frowned, stepping forward. "You know who I am." It wasn't a question.

The woman's lips twitched upward, but she otherwise did not respond. "Tell me what you see, Doctor."

"Who says he sees anything?" Matt chimed in, annoyed at the woman.

The woman looked at him, once again confused, but she didn't address the issue. "Quickly," she murmured. "We don't have much time."

For an instant, the Doctor was completely still. Then he seemed to make up his mind. With a shrug, he spoke. "Ship this size- engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move." He smiled without amusement. "So I thought I'd come down and take a look."

The woman nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Suddenly Matt heard shouting from outside. "Doctor, I suggest we wrap this up..." It wouldn't be long before they were discovered.

Agreeing, the woman withdrew an electronic device from her crimson cloak.. "Your friend is correct; there is a troop of Winders on their way here now." She paused. "I estimate you have thirty seconds."

Tugging him backwards, Matt attempted to get the Doctor on his way. There was no way he would voluntarily wait for the guards to arrest them. "Let's go!"

"How can we reach you?" the Doctor whisper-shouted, swatting Matt away. "Who are you?"

The woman was already fading into the shadows. "They call me Liz 10, and I'll find you," she said. "Now be a good Doctor and listen to your…brother." The last word was laced with questions, but with that she was gone.

Matt decided then that just because the Doctor wasn't running didn't mean he couldn't. Taking off, Matt could only hope the Doctor listened to reason and followed after him.

His footsteps rang hollowly against the metal floor, and Matt let his feet carry him where they willed. Within a few seconds, a second set of footsteps joined Matt's. The Doctor passed him easily, his double hearts giving the alien the advantage.

They swung around a corner, now in a part of the ship devoid of other people, and the Doctor ran directly into a red sweater-clad girl.

The Doctor stumbled, barely managing to keep from falling on top of the girl. "Mandy!" he shouted.

Mandy looked up at him, fear in her eyes. "They took your friend, Matt! The girl? They took her!"

"I'm the Doctor, actually, but never mind that. Who took her?"

Catching up at this point, Matt was too out of breath to say anything.

The girl's agitated eyes turned to Matt. "The Winders, they took your friend!"

The Doctor frowned, "What's with all this Winder business?"

"They're sort of like police," Matt explained quickly, "Dark robe- Reaper vibe."He leaned down so that he was at Mandy's level. "Where did they take Amy?"

Mandy gulped, "She went into an off-limits place and put her in there!"

The girl pointed at a closed door on their left, and the Doctor took off without a word. Mandy and Matt followed swiftly. "Did they hurt her?" Matt asked. In the episode he knew, the Winders hadn't done so, but what would happen in this version of events?

Mandy shook her head. "I don't think so."

Meanwhile, the Doctor banged rapidly on the door marked "Voting Station." "AMY!" he shouted.

He was about to sonic the door when it slid open, revealing a distraught and confused-looking Amy.

The Doctor tumbled through the door, nearly falling on his face, but at the last moment Matt stepped into the small room and managed to catch his arm.

Taking in the scene before him, dread filled Matt's stomach like stones. Amy stood in front of several small TVs all stacked up on top of each other. Three buttons resting on a counter in front of the TVs. One button was red and shouted 'Protest' in black letters, the middle button said 'Record', and the third button whispered 'Forget. Amy stared at the blank screen, her hand resting firmly on the white 'Forget' button. Matt knew she'd just finished watching the recording of herself.

"Oh, Amy! What did you do?" the Doctor gasped, jerking his arm from Matt and taking Amy by the shoulders.

She didn't respond, even when the Doctor shook her back and forth.

Matt frowned. He didn't remember this happening… "What's wrong with her?"

The Doctor didn't respond for a moment, to busy staring at Amy- a living statue. Waving a hand in front of her face, the Doctor was dismayed by Amy's lack of response. Suddenly her legs folded like a marionette's, and Amy fell soundlessly into the Doctor's arms. Grunting, the Doctor attempted to hold her up, but it was clear her dead weight was too much for him. With the slightest hint of a smile that he quickly wiped away, Matt grabbed Amy's other arm and helped the Doctor hold the human between them.

Quickly, the actor turned to Mandy. "Does this usually happen after they press the forget button?"

Mandy shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know. They always keep the voters locked up for a day or so to…recover."

Frowning, the Doctor now turned to Mandy. "Interesting… Have you voted?"

"No." Mandy shook her head. "You have to been sixteen, then every five years you're allowed to vote."

"Vote for what, exactly?"

Shrugging, Mandy gave Amy a worried glance. "I don't know- no one does."

Matt nodded. That made sense. "Everyone forgets what they voted for the moment they press the forget button."

Snorting incredulously, the Doctor shook his head. "That's just brilliant- democracy in action."

In that instant, there was a crash from around the corner. "Winders," Matt whispered nervously. "They're gonna find us any second now!"

The Doctor nodded. "Obviously."

"So what do we do?" Matt cried when the Doctor made no move. There was no way in all the seven galaxies he was going to let them get arrested.

Nothing is certain.

Those three word were like a curse, constantly hanging over his head.

Briefly, Matt struggled to come up with an escape route. We could run, but we won't be fast enough carrying Amy… Hide? No. We've already done that...

"Alright, Matt, you ready?" the Doctor spoke suddenly.

Eyes widening, Matt shook his head violently. "Whatever you're planing to do Doctor, for once listen to reason and don't!"

Maybe I should consider running again...

The Doctor ignored him, flashing a giddy grin. Then, his motions quick, the Doctor pushed Mandy out of the voting room. and turned toward the three buttons. "Run," he said sternly to Mandy, and then he turned to Matt. "Here we are, Matt."

"Doc-!"

The Doctor grinned. "Let's bring down the government!"

And with that, he slammed his hand down on the "Protest" button.

Immediately, steel doors sliced the time travelers from the rest of the world, and Matt let out a shriek. "Why, you maniac?! You know, once in a while, you could actually pass by a big red button?!"

The Doctor laughed like Matt was hilarious. "Never gonna happen!" A large crack appeared in the floor, growing larger by the second.

No. I am not doing this!

There was only a small amount of floor left, and under the crack was a tunnel so far down, it was impossible to see the bottom. Gripping Amy between them, the Doctor met Matt's gaze with a wild look of exhilaration. "Say 'weee'!" he shouted.

"You're crazy!" Matt replied instead, repressing the ridiculous urge to actually do as the Doctor said.

He was not a thrill seeker.

Then the floor slipped into the wall and there was nothing left to stand on. With a scream, Matt, Amy and the Doctor fell into the depths of the Starship UK.

**_AN: Review, Favorite, Follow. It gives me jitters when you guys do!_**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"You know, if this is really just a dream, I think right now would be a wonderful time to wake up…"

The Doctor shrugged, using his sonic for light. "Ah, it's not so bad." He scanned the room around them, apparently unhelpfully. "Feel this floor- it's all…bouncy!" The Doctor bounced up and down a few times to demonstrate.

Snorting, Matt picked Amy up from where she'd fallen. "Right. Stuck in the mouth of a giant creature, it's really not that bad." His voice dripped with so much sarcasm, one could almost taste it.

The Doctor spun around. "Really? A giant mouth?" He smiled. "Wow! If this is the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach!" He paused, seeming to hear his own words after they left his mouth. "Except…not right now."

Laughing without humor, Matt adjusted Amy's weight on his shoulders. He cringed, remembering what was coming.

"Alright." The Doctor straightened his bow-tie. "This isn't going to be big on dignity."

"That's an understatement," Matt mocked, but he was drowned out by the whirling shriek of the sonic. Suddenly a wave of…he didn't want to think about it, bubbled upwards and he was thrust backwards up and out of the mouth of the… Star whale? Wasn't that what it was called?

Moments later, he was sprawled on the ground of an obviously unused part of the ship, grinding his fingers in to the concrete flooring. No one mentioned in the episode how much it hurt to be spit out by a whale and land on the ground with an unconscious woman on top of you. And the smell! It was atrocious!

Needless to say, Matt was starting to like adventuring less and less. "Haven't you heard of looking before you leap?"

"Tried that once." The Doctor coughed, spitting vile out of his mouth. "Turns out I'm rubbish at it." He was already at his feet, inspecting the door out of the tunnel they found themselves in. "No concussion or broken bones. I checked," the Doctor spoke, scanning him and Amy with the screwdriver for a moment before focusing on the door once more.

"That's a miracle..." Matt struggled to stand, attempting to keep Amy's now wet hair out of his mouth. "Gah, it smells horrible!"

"Brilliant deduction, Matt," the Doctor replied sardonically. "Now, the question is…where are we?"

"How should I know?" Matt snapped irritably. "Some sort of refuge tunnel?" he suggested, searching his memory. He stepped toward the Doctor and stared at the door out of the tunnel. It was obviously locked.

"That would make sense…" the Doctor answered, not really paying attention.

Sighing, Matt realized he couldn't carry Amy on his own. "Would you mind?" he asked.

Glancing back, the Doctor moved from the door. "No need to be all grumpy…" the Doctor muttered with a smirk, pulling one of Amy's arms around his shoulders.

Having someone exactly the same height as Matt made it much easier to carry Amy. Of course, Matt wasn't about to admit that- not after falling hundreds of terrifying feet into the the mouth of a whale and then being puked up. No. He was so done that he didn't even care what the Doctor was doing. "Look at this…" the Doctor murmured. The door out of the tunnel was totally devoid of any sort of knob except for a single white button. "One choice…" he murmured. "Choose to forget and you're free to go."

Matt gulped. "And I'm assuming we're not going to press that."

"Right-o," the Doctor said, spinning away.

Immediately lights flipped on at the other side of the tunnel. There, against the wall, sat two booths, each with a smiler within. "Ooh! Looky here!" The Doctor hop-skipped toward them and left Matt to support Amy by himself.

"Doctor, I don't think that's a-"

"Hello there!" the Doctor interrupted. "Nice weather down here, isn't it?"

The smilers said nothing, but their faces turned around backwards simultaneously to reveal displeased expressions. Matt sighed inwardly. "Doctor don't-"

"Oh please," the Doctor scoffed, "don't you know it's rude to stare? Now," He rubbed his chin. "press protest and get eaten by some creature, correct? Well that's not very nice."

With red eyes and snarling mouths, the smilers' faces were now a perfect picture of rage.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Look, that's not going to work on me. I can take a scary face. What are you going to do, stick out your tongues?"

Matt knew what was going to happen next, and he backpedaled rapidly. There was a hissing air release, and the booths swung open.

"Oh," the Doctor stated, "there are legs attached to that waist. Who knew?" He glanced at Matt, and giggled nervously. "Bit problematic for us, though."

Matt gaped. "I swear, Doctor-" He held Amy on the left, and the Doctor grabbed her right arm as the smilers stood up and began walking threateningly toward them.

They were backed against the wall now, and Matt closed his eyes. Yup. He was definitely going home if he survived this.

The smilers had almost reached the travelers, but at that moment the door behind them burst open to reveal a gun-toting flash of crimson. Liz 10 rushed in and shot the smilers in the chest with some sort of stun gun. Immediately, the smilers froze and crashed to the floor.

Liz 10 smiled, placing her guns back in a pocket. "Hello mates," she said.

Matt blinked. Talk about good timing. "Hi," he coughed.

The Doctor had already recovered. "How did you find us?"

Liz 10 shrugged modestly, and held up her strange gadget. "I tracked you with this." Right then, Mandy peeked from behind the now open door, a timid smile on her face. Immediately her eyes locked with Matt's. "Hello."

Matt couldn't help the smile that curved his lips. "Hey Mandy, fancy meeting you here."

Liz 10 patted Mandy on the shoulder. "Yes, she is very brave." Moving on, Liz 10 looked at Amy's slumped form between the two men. "This must be Amy," she murmured. "Pretty hair, shame about the sick."

"Yes, I agree. Now on to other stuff. How do you know me?" Matt could have sworn up and down that the Doctor's mind never stayed on a subject for more than half a moment.

Liz 10 chuckled. "I've heard the stories, my whole family has. You show signs of superior, alien intelligence, have an…interesting fashion statement and rubbish hair."

For a reason Matt couldn't understand, the Doctor seemed to take this as a compliment.

Matt knew that they didn't have time to talk, but he didn't realize how much had passed until the smiler reached up a mechanical hand and clamped down on his ankle. Shouting in surprise, Matt was yanked away from the Doctor, Amy and Liz 10. "Doct-" His voice caught in his throat, and the smiler sent a shock through his body that stilled his tongue and shook his body. He attempted to cry out, but no sound escaped his lips. _What?_

The Doctor was at his side immediately. He put Amy down, withdrew his screwdriver, and began scanning the smiler's hand that clutched Matt's foot. "Just wait a moment, Matt. I've almost got you!"

Liz 10 knelt down, concern in her eyes. "The smilers are repairing, Doctor. We need to get out of here."

_Like he doesn't know!_ Matt tried to scream as another shock shook his core. However, not a word was spoken..

Crap. What was happening?

_Doctor!_ Matt screamed silently. Oh this was not good.

Liz 10 stood up. "That gadget of yours isn't fast enough," she said, and shot the Smiler again. The iron grip on Matt's ankle went limp immediately.

Matt scrambled away without hesitation. _Let's go!_ Matt shouted, tumbling toward the door. He was going to get as far away as he could from that thing. No one heard his voice, but they followed after him.

Soon they raced down an empty hallways, the Doctor firing questions at Liz and Matt. Amy was still slumped between the two men. "Matt," he said, "say something."

Matt shouted several profanities that would have caused his mother to smack him, but the Doctor didn't even flinch. Instead he nodded slowly. "Right, I'm not going to try to figure that out. Hopefully I can fix this."

_You better!_

The Doctor read his lips carefully. "Apparently if you don't choose the forget button, the smilers fire an electrical shock into the linguistic part of your brain. Basically making you forget how to speak…" He thought for a moment. "Rather clever actually. Now you can't tell anyone about what you know…"

Oh Matt was going to kill him. _Brilliant,_ he said, but of course, no one heard him.

Liz 10 glanced at Matt and back at the Doctor. "So what exactly is the story here?' she said, gesturing between them."The stories never said you have a brother."

The Doctor blinked. "Ah, well. I don't actually. This is Matt, he's from a parallel universe- very complicated- bit of a mess."

Liz nodded slowly, continuing her brisk pace. "I've heard about you since I was a kid, Doctor." She smiled mischievously. "My family has met you so many times I can't even count it. The virgin queen- ha! You bad, bad boy…"

Matt glanced at the Doctor. _Bad boy indeed…_

By the middle of season seven, where Matt had last filmed, this issue had not been addressed, but he had a general idea of what Liz was talking about.

The Doctor was looking the other way. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks. "Wait- Liz 10. You're-"

Suddenly Liz spun around. "And down!" A smiler rose up behind them, and she shot it without seeming to aim.

Dang. She was seriously hardcore.

"Elizabeth the tenth," Liz 10 said, putting her guns back in their holsters. "Basically, I rule."

Quickly, the group tumbled down a small staircase and into a thin hallway. To Matt's left, a cage held several scorpion-like claws that sprouted from the floor. The flesh that covered the claws was red and swollen from all of the times it beat itself against the bars. Oddly, Matt felt his sympathy go toward the creature. It was hideous and he had almost been eaten by it, but at the same time, he knew the creature was in pain, and it tugged at his heart. Maybe that was a bit of the Doctor filtering through during all of that filming… Matt shook the thought away as they continued on to Liz 10's bedroom.

The entrance to her room was nondescript and one of the few wooden items on the ship. There was a calming fireplace to the right of the door, and a massive canopied bed to the left. Stepping carefully, Matt entered the room and set the unconscious Amy on Liz's bed.

The Doctor looked around the room silently, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Eyes so much older than Matt's landed on numerous glasses of water resting on the floor. They were all shapes and sizes, and the light glinted across them, making it look like the glasses were goblets full of fire instead of water. "What's with the glasses?" the Doctor asked, hopping up on the bed next to Liz 10. "A bit overkill, isn't it? I mean, one glass does the same job as…" The Doctor counted the glasses quickly. "As twenty three."

Matt froze. That was exactly what he was thinking upon stepping into the room.

Liz leaned backward against the headboard and considered her answer. "They are a reminder that my government is corrupt. They keep information from me. My entire reign, I have been trying to figure what they are keeping away…" She went silent for a moment, sadness filling her eyes."I go in disguise, investigating my own kingdom." A sneer escaped her lips. "It's despicable.."

Nodding, the Doctor picked up the porcelain mask she was wearing when Matt first met her. "This mask, it's perfectly crafted to your face…"

"Yeah? So?" Liz pushed away the Doctor's hand.

"Oh Liz," The Doctor shook his head. "so everything." They were silent for a moment. Meanwhile, Matt was trying to navigate through the sea of glasses and failing considerably. "How old were you when you began your reign?" The Doctor asked quietly, ignoring his mirror-image.

"Forty. It's been ten years. Why?"

"You don't look fifty…" the Doctor offered.

"Thank you. They slowed my body clock."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose for a moment, which made Matt snort and trip over a glass.

_Is that so surprising? You don't look nine hundred,_ Matt mouthed, attempting to catch the glass. However, it fell on its side and knocked over three more glasses in a shattering symphony.

The Doctor and Liz 10 froze. Embarrassed, Matt scratched his neck and stopped moving before he could knock over anything else. _Sorry,_ he mouthed.

Liz 10 gave him a long look before glancing at the Doctor. "Help him," she said.

Matt wanted to feel indignant, but it was hard to complain successfully when you couldn't speak. Quickly, the Doctor reached out a hand to help him out of the pile of glass and water. However, he only managed to knock over three more glasses and spill water all over Matt's converses.

Mandy giggled from her place at the door, and Liz 10 gave an annoyed huff. "For all things British," she muttered, standing up and pulling both of the men out of the glass and toward her bed once more. "Parallel versions- I see your resemblance goes deeper than your face."

Matt scowled, unable to do much else. The Doctor didn't seem to notice the comment.

Suddenly there was a large bang from across the room and several black-robed men marched through the door, and Matt thought they resembled executioners. Yes, they definitely had a 'Grimm Reaper' vibe going on. Mandy was pushed to the side, and Liz 10 stood up indignantly. "How dare you! What is the meaning of this?"

Black-robed men payed no attention, instead, the leader, a bald, dark-skinned man stepped forward. "You have expressed interest in the lower levels, Ma'am. We have orders from the highest authority. You are to come with us."

Matt was silent, wondering if he slipped under the bed whether the Winders would notice him. Meanwhile, Liz 10 scoffed, "I _am_ the highest authority!"

Suddenly Matt was frozen, his objective forgotten. Slowly, with mechanical precision, the winder's head twisted backwards. Crudely sown to the back of his skull, the plastic smiler's face scowled at them. Matt's stomach heaved. It was so much more gruesome than it had been when he watched episode. He could see the scabs where the flesh gave into plastic. It almost looked like it had been stapled there. Jeez, how horrible. It had to be agony. He knew, with a glance, that the Doctor's thoughts were on the same wavelength.

What was with him lately? Why was he suddenly pitying the bad guys?

The Doctor cringed. "Half human, half smiler…" He shook his head. "Where will you take us?" he asked.

The winder was silent for a moment and then replied, "You, the Queen, the child, the Scott, and the one-who-does-not-belong will come to the Tower."

Blinking, Matt stepped forward. T_he one-who-does-not-belong? Me?_ he mouthed. But, of course, no one heard him.

The Doctor shrugged. He sort of wanted to go to the tower anyway. "Alright then, to the Tower of London we go!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

It smelled.

That was the first thing Matt noticed about the tower of London. It smelled like human waste and burning flesh, and it took a great deal of self control on Matt's part to keep from puking. It didn't help that he already smelled worse than he had in his entire life. The second thing Matt noticed was the giant metal spike protruding from the ceiling that shot massive jolts of electricity into the exposed brain of a star whale.

He forgot about the smell.

Here was this creature, tortured day after day. It made Matt sick, because seeing this was so much worse than anything a green-screen could produce. This was real. Real pain. Real electricity. A living creature with thoughts and emotions, and a soul, slowly being murdered. It made Matt's stomach heave with indignation. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so strongly about something, but then again, he hadn't really had the chance to feel about much of anything. He'd spent his life acting out the intentions and convictions of the character he played, but now Matt realized he hadn't taken the time to look up and find out what _he _stood for- just him. Matt Smith.

If he stood for anything, Matt knew he didn't stand for this.

Suddenly, a massive headache seared behind his eyelids. He stumbled backwards, dropping Amy against a wall and clutching his head. What was going on? Distress colored Matt's actions and he turned away from the sight of the star whale's tortured soul. Immediately, the pain stopped. It was gone, switched off like a light switch.

_What?_

The Doctor was silent- absolutely immovable. He glanced at Matt and saw the despair and disgust in the man's eyes. "You okay?"

Matt nodded quickly. Did the Doctor see what just happened? If he hadn't, Matt had no intention of sharing the experience. It would just raise questions he didn't want to answer.

The Doctor saw Matt's crumpled expression and his respect for the actor turned up a notch. He was heartbroken for a creature he had no connection to whatsoever.

_Yes, _the Doctor thought, _definitely keeping this one._

"What is going on here?" Liz 10 demanded angrily. Stomping toward the center of the room, she looked around at the emotionless robed figures- winders.

"Well," The Doctor scratched his neck and pointed at the zaps of electricity. "it is either the acceleration button, or the exposed pain center of a creature's brain that is being tortured constantly…" He paused. "It's all in how you look at it."

Matt still felt sick. His mind was still scrambling for an explanation for the strange headache, but he pushed his thoughts away. Right now he needed to focus on other things. There was a high pitched noise around him that Matt couldn't really hear, but seemed to touch the edge of his consciousness. Suddenly, the Doctor thrust his screwdriver in the air with unsuppressed fury in his eyes and immediately the sound grew louder into teeth-grinding screams. They shook the room and Matt wasn't sure how long he could listen to that before going insane.

"It's beyond human hearing!" the Doctor shouted above the screams. "But that doesn't mean it isn't there, the screams of this creature!"

Liz 10 shoved her hands over her ears. "_Stop_! Make it stop!"

Immediately, the Doctor's screwdriver buzzed and the sound faded out of their hearing. The moment the sound ceased, Matt slumped against a nearby wall in relief.

Liz 10 turned in fury upon the winders. "You will stop this _at once_!"

"We are following orders from the highest authority," a white-haired man spoke. He seemed to be in charge of the winders.

Liz 10 stomped her foot. "I _am _the highest authority!"

"Yes, Ma'am," the man answered.

Now the Doctor stepped forward, sighing. There was anger in his eyes as he spoke. "Your mask." He kept his line of vision away from the creature's brain.

Liz glanced up, still angry. "Yeah? What about it?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "It's porcelain- very old, at least two hundred years."

Shrugging, Liz held up the mask, which she had brought with her. "So? It's an antique."

Matt had mostly recovered from his shock and stepped forward. _It stays on your face because it's perfectly crafted to fit you, _he tried to say, but he was still mute. Matt bit his lip, annoyed.

The Doctor echoed Matt's sentence and then continued. "It was crafted by craftsmen _two hundred years ago_ to fit _your _face perfectly."

Realization flew through Liz's eyes and she stumbled under it. "No, no. That's not-"

"It's been a long ol' reign, Liz 10. You're not fifty, dear. You're three hundred." The Doctor landed the words without hesitation.

Liz 10 shook her head, her curls bouncing wildly. "No. I've reigned for ten years, that's it."

"Yes," The Doctor nodded. His mind raced double time as he connected dots. "the same ten years, over and over. Every time leading you…" He grabbed Liz's hand and rushed her around to a station across the room similar to the voting station Amy had been in. TVs sat on a desk along with the familiar 'forget' button and another white button with the word 'advocate' written on it. "...here." The Doctor let go of Liz and she sat down slowly. Immediately, a video explaining what had been sacrificed for the lives of the British people began to play.

Matt didn't watch it. He knew what it said. He knew about the star whale that came like a miracle. He knew how the English trapped it and built their ship around the creature. He knew it, and it was killing him.

When the video ended, everyone went very still.

After a moment, the Doctor scrubbed his face and then gripped the handrails that lined the opening around the starwhale's brain. Taking a deep breath, he jumped into action and began messing with the mechanisms that controlled the shock of electricity.

"What are you doing?" Liz 10 asked.

The Doctor didn't look up. "Our options are as follows: let an innocent creature continue to be tortured for hundreds more years, or release the star whale- the ship disintegrates and everyone aboard dies, _or _I send a massive jolt of electricity through its brain and leave it a vegetable, unable to feel anything. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor anymore."

"But that will be like killing it!" Liz protested.

Matt saw the way the Doctor's body stiffened. The Gallifreyan slammed his hands against the controls. "What choice do I have?" he shouted. "No one- no one human has _anything _to say to me today!"

Matt stepped forward, wondering if he could calm the Doctor down, but then he paused. What could he do anyway now that he was mute?

No one said anything, instead they wandered off, each in their own thoughts. Meanwhile, the Doctor continued to fiddle with the controls, a deadly expression on his face.

Matt sat against a wall next to Mandy as minutes ticked by. He wondered whether he should do something. In the episode, Matt knew, it was Amy who forced Liz to press 'advocate', but how could she do that in her state? Amy sat on Matt's right, her head lolling to the side, and sick dripping off her hair_. Poor Amy, _Matt thought, _she'll be so mad she missed all this.._.

If Amy didn't do what she was suppose to do, what would the consequences be? Matt knew they would go beyond killing the last star whale. This sort of action would change the Doctor, and not in a good way. By choosing to kills something innocent, the Doctor might make different choices in the future- wrong choices.

No.

Matt couldn't just sit here. Someone had to do something, and mute or not, Matt was the only one who knew what had to be done.

Standing up suddenly, Matt tried to reassure himself. _It will work. That is, if the result is the same as the episode._

He shook off his indecision, but couldn't get rid of the butterflies in his stomach. Moving quickly, Matt walked up to the Queen, Liz 10, and grabbed her hand. _Excuse me, your Majesty, I need your hand, _he mouthed.

Liz had no idea what Matt said, but it was too late to stop herself. With a satisfying click, the advocate button was pressed down under the weight of her hand.

_Oh God, please let this work._

_AN: SO I started writing another story recently. It's an Doctor Who mutants/superpowers AU. So check out my profile if that sounds interesting to you. It's called the Impossible possibilities in the Life of a Psychotic Adolescent, anyway, please review._


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN:Sorry it's a bit late. It's here now! Thanks goes to my beta-reader!**_

* * *

Chapter Eight

The moment the advocate button was pressed, the star whale gave a massive roar. Around them, the room rumbled and shook, and all across the ship, people screamed and ran in panic. Their world was falling around them.

Within the tower, the Doctor stumbled away from the electric controls looking furious. "What did you do?!" he shouted.

_Wait for it!_ Matt mouthed.

And then the shaking died down into nothing. There was a positive electronic noise as the ship increased in speed.

_HA! IT WORKED! THANK GOD IT WORKED_, Matt silently shouted! He threw his hands in the air and jumped over a railing in order to reach the Doctor.

The Doctor froze, relief filling him. Meanwhile, Liz 10 exhaled in disbelief, "It's still here! The star whale didn't leave!"

Nodding rapidly, Matt opened his mouth to explain why, but realized he couldn't. Quickly thinking, he reached into his pocket and realized he had been unconsciously picking up stuff as he went along through the ship.

Man, he seriously needed to get this habit of his under control.

Except...not right now. Randomly picking up knickknacks was coming in handy at the moment. He withdrew a screw, a spring, three pencils, a gear, a bottle cap, an old movie ticket, an eraser, two marbles, and a small notepad from his pockets.

Then Matt leaned against the wall and began scribbling. He continued for several minutes, and then finally shoved the paper at the Doctor. Glancing down, the Doctor's eyebrows rose. "Hum," he said, "we've got the same handwriting. That could be useful some day..."

Matt huffed in exasperation. _Just read it!_ he mouthed.

Rolling his eyes the Doctor finally began to read Matt's note aloud. "The star whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago," he read. "It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old and really kind and alone—your whole race dead, no future. What could you do then? If you were that old and that kind, and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry." The Doctor finished and a blank look covered his face. "I am a bloody imbecile," he muttered.

Matt hoped that that was along the lines of what Amy would have said. This _was _her spotlight he was stealing. Then again, it's not like he'd worked out the solution the way Amy did in the episode. He knew how to fix their problem because he already knew what was going to happen. Amy, on the other hand, would have worked it out without any foreknowledge, something Matt doubted he could have done.

The Doctor's hand dropped to his side and he turned to Matt. "Was this suppose to happen or did you-?"

Matt shook his head rapidly and then pointed at Amy. _Her job,_ he mouthed.

Amy chose that moment to suddenly breathe in deeply and jerk into consciousness. "What the-" She stood up slowly. "Where are we?" She smelled the air and cringed. "Why do I smell like sick?"

The Doctor let out a laugh. Relief was pouring off the Gallifreyan in waves. "That, Amelia Pond, is a long story."

Back in the TARDIS, Matt dangled his legs over the side of the examination table. He swung them back in forth in rhythm with the TARDIS's flight strains. The memory of a hospital trip as a child filled his mind.

"_Stay still, Matt!" his mother cried, exasperated. "Let the nice man feel your heartbeat."_

_Matt continued to squirm. "But it's cold!" he insisted. His doctor, a kind, balding man, stepped forward._

"_I'll give you a sucker after we're done. Does that sound good?"_

_And suddenly, Matt decided he would pretend to be a statue._

Matt smiled at the memory as the Doctor bounded through the doors, slamming them behind him. They were in the TARDIS's medical bay, a completely white room with instruments all around that Matt tried not to peer at too closely. Hopefully, the tools just _looked _frightening.

"Right- Matt," the Doctor spoke as he rushed around, "it's not a matter of getting your voice back, but keeping it."

_What_? Matt mouthed.

"Thought you'd say that- well, I say 'say' But I don't actually mean _say _per se, but that… well… er, you know what I..." The Doctor scratched his neck awkwardly. "Actually, never mind all that. Back to business, right?"

Rolling his eyes, Matt leaned backwards against a wall behind him. _I hope he knows what he's doing…_

While the Doctor prepared for whatever his plan was, Amy snuck into the medical room, a pouting expression on her face. She was still mad she missed all the adventure. Matt gave her a small smile, and she smirked back. Everyone had taken showers _finally, _and Amy had switched out her nightie for a lightweight purple shirt and black skinny jeans. Hoisting herself onto the examination table, she let her weight fall against the wall next to Matt.

"Hey," she murmured.

Matt almost chuckled. He wriggled his fingers in a funny sort of wave.

Amy giggled. "Sorry, almost forgot- no voice. How did that happen exactly?"

Matt waved his hands dismissively in a way he hoped translated to "Long story."

Nodding, Amy kicked her legs back and forth. "You'll have to tell me sometime…" she murmured.

Immediately, guilt stabbed Matt's chest. He couldn't help but feel like he stole _her _victory. It couldn't be helped, she had been unconscious, but he still felt guilty.

_Sorry_, he mouthed.

Amy looked confused. "For what? It isn't your fault I missed everything." She smiled at the end of her sentence to show that she didn't really care all that much.

But she did care, and it _was _Matt's fault. He shouldn't be here; he was changing everything.

_I've got to get home,_ he thought.

The Doctor was finished gathering his supplies. "Oi!" He pointed at Amy. "I _told _you to stay out of here."

Amy shrugged innocently and hopped down. Her bare feet slapped against the floor sharply, and she rolled her eyes at the Doctor. "Alright," she sighed dramatically. Waving goodbye, Amy tip-toed away. "Talk to you later, Matt!" she threw over her shoulders. And then the redhead was gone.

The Doctor looked after her, a soft expression on his face. A ghost of a smile flitted to his lips. "She's still mad at me?"

Matt nodded. _Yeah_.

Shaking his head, the Doctor fill a syringe with a silver liquid. "So," he started, "back to business The Smiler fried the connection between your vocal chords and the linguistic part of your brain."

Matt didn't like the sound of that.

"Turns out, I can fix you." The Doctor smiled at Matt's relieved expression. He held up the syringe. "The brain communicates with electrical pulses. You know that, right?"

Matt nodded.

"Good." The Doctor bit his lip. "Electrical pulses travel across metal at an extremely fast rate, but not fast enough to be used as a bridge between your broken connections."

Matt waited.

"_However_," the Doctor continued, "combined with some technology from the fifty-first century, my genius, the sonic, and a liquid metal only found in the jungles of Saxorocolipito 3, you've got a cure!" He grinned. "Course, you'll have horrible disagreements with metal detectors, but that's a small price to pay."

Matt was less than ecstatic. _You are _not _putting _metal _in my head! _

"Oh come on!" the Doctor whined. "It's perfectly safe!"  
Matt snorted. _Like heck! _He would never in a million years trust himself to do something like this. Hopefully, the Doctor was better at this sort of thing.

Sighing dramatically, the Doctor pushed himself up so he was sitting next to Matt on the table. "It's this," He held up the syringe. "or no talking. Forever."

Well then. What choice did he have?

Gulping, Matt gave in. _What do I do?_ he mouthed.

The Doctor smiled. "Just stay totally still," he murmured, hopping off the table and guiding Matt to turn around. His hands were warm against the back of Matt's neck. "This won't hurt a bit…" the Doctor stated, pushing the needle into the base of his skull.

Suddenly, Matt ground his hands into the table, refusing to cry out. Agony coursed through him, but it in no way compared to the pain he felt in the tower when looking at the star whale. As quickly as the pain appeared, it was gone.

"I lied," the Doctor said simply.

"I am _this _close to decking you and your _stupid _bow tie right now!" Matt shouted. Then he paused, the anger leaving him. His voice sounded just slightly different from what he was used to, but he couldn't place it.

The Doctor smiled, relieved. "It worked! I hoped it would! I'll have to scan you ever so often to make sure everything is working properly but-"

Matt jumped off of the table. His voice squeaked in indignation. "You didn't _know _if it would _work_?!"

"Well, I was fairly certain, but it's not like this sort of thing has been done before."

"You could have killed me!" Matt shouted, stepping toward the Doctor. Then he stopped, realizing what was different. "Do I sound..._Scottish?_"

The Doctor thought for a moment, "Quite a bit, now that you mention it. What an interesting side effect... Were you thinking about Amy? That might be the cause."

"Oh, that's just brilliant," Matt replied sarcastically. He supposed a Scottish voice was better than no voice at all, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Did it work?" Amy cried, skipping into the room.

"Yeah, it worked," Matt spoke, "but the blithering idiot somehow turned me Scottish!"

_Blithering_. Since when did he say that…

Amy blinked. "You don't sound so bad to me."

"Yes, well, _you'd_ say that. You're _Scottish_!"

The Doctor giggled, which earned him a glare from his mirror image. "Sorry."

Matt sighed. "Is there anythin' you can do to make me sound normal again?" He shook his head. "Blimey that's strong!"

"I won't disagree," the Doctor piped. "I have no idea if it'permanent or not. I'll mess with the sonic later; might be able to tweak you a bit...On the plus side, you could be an extra in Braveheart!"

"Doctor," Matt rolled his eyes. He wasn't really angry, just annoyed. "I have something I want to tell you, and I highly recommend you shut your trap."

"Oh, but this is too much fu-"

"Doctor, I want to go ho-" Matt's words were interrupted by a violent shake. The medical bay fell into chaos as the TARDIS shook and swerved.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Amy shouted, clinging to a counter.

"I DON'T KNOW!" The Doctor shouted, shock in his eyes. He stumbled out of the medical bay and into the console room. Immediately Matt and Amy tumbled after him, shouting and screaming all the while.

"Is there never a moment of _silence _in this place?!" Matt screamed, clinging onto the handrails that lined the center console.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!"The Doctor yelled as he raced in circles, pushing an innumerable amount of buttons at an inhuman speed. "We _might _be crashing!"

* * *

**_AN: Poor Matt. I'm starting to almost feel sorry for him... almost. So he's Scottish now. Not sure if that will stick or not, but personally I think it's hilarious. Anyway, tell me what you think about the characters, plot, anything in general that you like or dislike. I'm gonna switch off telling DW episode adventures and my original adventures. Tell me what you think about that. Thanks for reading!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_AN: Sorry about the wait. I'm not going to bore you with the mundane details of my crazy life, so here's another chapter._**

Chapter Nine

The first thing Matt was aware of was moisture beneath him, and then he felt the hands under his arms.

"Is he okay?" Amy asked, concern in her voice.

"He's just unconscious, or _was _unconscious. I can tell you're awake, Matt!" the Doctor leaned down and snapped his fingers in the man's face.

Annoyed, Matt shoved his hand away and sat up. "You are a bloody headache..." he muttered in his new Scottish accent.

The Doctor grinned. "He's fine!"

Blinking, Matt looked around the wide canyon he found himself in. The dew-covered grass was short, brilliantly green and covered every inch of land for as far as he could see. Large black boulders thrust up from the ground, beautiful and dangerous, while equally dark cliffs lined the canyon they found themselves in. Tufts of deep green forest sprung up at random. Above them, a grey, wet sky stretched. And all from it fog hung low and gave the scene a mysterious feel. Wherever they were, it was absolutely stunning.

Matt rubbed his eyes and checked himself to see if he was injured. Surprisingly, besides the bump on his head that knocked him out, there were no other injuries. He stood up and spun in a slow circle. "Where are we now?" he asked.

Amy put her hands on her hips and leaned against the TARDIS, which lay on its side. It had hit the ground, and the momentum had carried it forward about twenty feet or so, leaving a smoking, black trail through the ground. If it hadn't been so wet everywhere, there probably would have been a fire. "Doctor?"

The Doctor stood on top of a pile of black boulders, busy staring up a cliff face that traveled forty feet or more above them. A calculating expression was on his face. "Hum?" he answered, turning halfway toward his companions. "Oh yes, well…" He frowned.

"What is it?" Matt questioned, walking up to the alien.

"It's a bit ironic, Matt, but I think we're Scotland."

Matt blinked. "You're joking, right?"

"No."

"Great, cause if you were I'd hit you."

Amy climbed up next to the Doctor, her eyes wide. "Scotland…" she murmured. "What year?"

The Doctor shrugged. "The wind is messing me up; I can't smell it."

Matt snorted. "What? Smell time?"

"Obviously." And with that, the Doctor hopped on his heels and went back to the TARDIS.

Matt and Amy stared after him. "Can he seriously smell-"

"I have no idea. It's not specified where I come from."

Shrugging, Amy followed after the Doctor. After a moment, Matt did too. Leaning down, Amy picked up her shoe, which had fallen off in the crash. Putting it on, she glanced up at the Doctor. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked the alien.

The Doctor was dangling halfway in the TARDIS, his legs kicking the air, and now he popped out again. "_Well_," he drawled, "the TARDIS needs time to repair herself, _so _I suggest an expedition!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "A what?"

"Let's go explore!" the Doctor exclaimed. He patted the TARDIS gently and closed the doors. With a mischievous smirk, the Doctor left his machine and began walking toward the rising sun.

"Where are you going _now_?!" Matt called after him.

"I haven't an inkling!" the Doctor replied over his shoulder. "Are you coming or not?".

Amy grinned at Matt. "Come on, it'll be fun!" She grabbed his elbow and tugged him after her.

Matt sighed inwardly, but followed anyway. He was certain this adventure would be anything but 'fun'.

* * *

**Much later:**

"I spy…" the Doctor spoke once more, "someone who looks like me but-"

"Me. Again." Matt answered, deadpan.

The Doctor glanced at him. "_Alright…_ I spy something green and thin and-"

"The grass."

"Jeez, you're good. I spy something grey and big and-"

"The sky."

"How are you _doing _that?!" the Doctor suddenly exploded, throwing his hands in the air.

Matt rolled his eyes. Three hours of 'I Spy' was getting old. "I don't know! Maybe because _we're in the middle of nowhere _and there's _nothing to spy_!"

The Doctor opened his mouth and then closed it again. "I'm sure if we walk far enough we'll run into someone _eventually_."

Amy had long since sunk into silence, but now she spoke up. "Hey look!" She pointed at a tuft of forest about a mile away. If they looked closely, they could see smoke rising up from the trees.

"Ha!" the Doctor shouted. He pointed accusingly at Matt. "See? I told you-"

"Finally," Matt muttered, ignoring the Doctor. His feet ached. He was still exhausted from his experience with the star whale, and a massive headache plagued him with every step. Being concussed was not a pleasant experience. "Civilization..."

Suddenly, Matt felt cold, sharp metal pressed up against the small of his back. "Move, British fiend. I dare you."

Matt didn't move, but his eyes flicked to Amy and the Doctor. There were three burly men behind the three travelers, each one holding a weapon to their backs. Crap. Why did everything _always _go wrong?

"Hello!" the Doctor spouted. "I'm the Doctor, these are my friends, and _blimey _that's a large knife!"

The man that held the Doctor captive smiled crookedly. "You say you're a doctor?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, "Well-"

"We can't let a Brit into the camp," insisted the man that held Matt, seeming to know what the other man was thinking."He might be a spy."

"But we need a doctor," the man that held Amy argued.

Matt noted that the giant man held Amy gently, respectfully. The man wasn't a savage.

"Oi!" Amy spoke up, filling out her accent. "He may be British, but he's the only doctor 'round here for miles!"

The Scott holding Amy released her in his shock. "You're not a Brit!" he cried.

"Course I'm not!" The redhead jerked backwards and crossed her arms. Suddenly, Matt was very aware of her Scottish heritage.

The Scottish man took in her face, and then suddenly fell to his knees, "My humblest apologies, M'lady." His blue eyes sparkled with fear. "I-I was unaware of your identity…"

She glanced at Matt. "Um…It's fine." her face was laced with confusion, but she quickly covered it up.

_Clever girl, _Matt thought.

"Yeah… I'm Scottish, and so is he." She pointed at Matt.

"What?" Matt cried, "No I'm-"

"Got hit on the head a bit earlier; he's confused, but you can tell by his voice he's not a foreigner."

The man holding Matt, stepped away. "Why didn't you say so?!" he cried. "M'lady, excuse my intrusion, but what are you doing out here with a Briton and this man?" He swiveled Matt around to look him in the face for the first time. Doing a double take, the Scott's eyes jumped back and forth between Matt and the Doctor. "Mary and Joseph, I'm seein' double!"

"We're brothers." the Doctor jumped in. "It's a bit confusing, you see me and Matt here were lost and this kind woman agreed to take us to her village."

Matt blinked. Talk about fast thinking…

One of the men laughed humorlessly. "Not sure why you would want to come to our camp. This 'woman' as you call her, is the daughter of our leader, Akrina."

What on _Earth _was going on?!

Neither Matt nor the Doctor had to fake their surprise. "Ah," Matt spoke, "I assure you, we had _no _idea."

The three men shook their heads at them like they were just children. Quickly they turned toward each other and spoke for a moment.

"Alright," said one of the men, clearly the leader. Blue eyes sparkled from underneath thick eyebrows, and a kind smile played with his lips. He addressed Amy. "If ye trust the Brit, Atala, then I suppose ye can bring him into camp."

"Thank you," Amy replied, biting back a small smile. "What about, Matt?"

The leader shrugged dismissively. "He's a Scott." He turned to Matt, "You can do what ye like. Come in the camp or don't. Follow our rules and you're welcome."

_Just go with it_, Matt thought. "Thank you, ah-"

"Bryce," the blue-eyed man supplied.

"Thank you, Bryce. I think I'll come along."

And with that, the alien, the actor, and the Scott were escorted to the camp.


End file.
